GM Unloads Hummer to Chinese Buyer

CNN money ^ | 06/02/09 | Aaron Smith

[epow]

General Motors Corp. has struck a deal to sell its Hummer truck unit to a Chinese industrial business, the two companies confirmed Tuesday.

Privately owned Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., based in China, will acquire the truck brand, which has been part of GM since 1999. Tengzhong said it plans to keep Hummer's management team.

"We plan to ... allow Humer to innovate and grow in exciting new ways under the leadership and continuity of its current management team," said Yang Yi, chief executive of Tengzhong.

Yang said the deal "will allow Hummer to better meet demand for new products such as more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S."

The companies said the deal would likely close by the end of September.

As part of the deal, some GM plants will continue to build the Hummer brand for the new owner, at least for awhile. The company said its Shreveport, La., plant will keep building Hummers for the new owner until at least 2010.

[ponder life]

I’m sure most of US operations will stay in the US. What will likely happen, though, is that the new owners will duplicate facilities in China.

[max americana]

I’ll pass as well. The Chinese make crap. They don;t have any originality and their quality assurance protocols are worse than people thought. One of my former classmates now runs a business liaison office in Asia for US companies and from what she told me last year, the Chicoms can make anything if they want to...don’t just expect it to last long.

[getarope]

Chinese Hummer=Chummer!

[getarope]

Chinese Hummer=Chummer!

[getarope]

Darn “Post” key got stuck!

[epow]

I will be interested in the Chinese union-labor relations.

The Chinese are probably not going to cave in to every demand the union boss thugs can dream up the way GM has in the past. GM's unfunded liability for retiree pensions and medical benefits is currently about $14 billion, and that doesn't include active employees. GM's fund has roughly $84 billion and it's liability is close to $100 billion.

“GM is a benefits-paying organization masking itself as an auto company. The real function of the company is trying to pay pensions and retiree health care. They could produce a car to compete with Toyota but couldn’t pay the retiree liabilities they agreed to many years ago,” said Donald G.M. Coxe, chairman of Chicago-based Coxe Advisors LLC. Coxe doesn’t invest in GM.

[Vince Ferrer]

Even the Chinese will still have to obey Obama's new CAFE milage increases, so the new Chinese Hummers will look more like this:

[yldstrk]

yuh cah company ah ours...........

[pointsal]

Probably going to come with a special bracket for mounting rapid-fire weapons on the roof.... /sarc

[snoringbear]

“Aren’t Hummers used as U.S. military vehicles? Is this something we want to move off shore? The Chinese already make ALL our boots! Someone had better wake up.”

The original Hummer was built by AMG. It's suspension and drive train is unique to this vehicle. The Hummer 2 is basically a GM 3/4 ton chassis and drive train, basically the same under rig as a Chevy/GMC Suburban or pickup. Nevertheless, your point is valid in that we will eventually see these vehicles in wide use throughout the Chinese army as their automotive technology sucks...